


Angels

by maskedbriala



Category: overwatch
Genre: F/M, Gen, Minor Violence, burn wounds mention, medical situations / first aid treatment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 01:24:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9796196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maskedbriala/pseuds/maskedbriala
Summary: Returned to Overwatch by force, Reaper is made to confront unresolved chemistry with Angela Ziegler.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have pretty complicated feelings about Mercy/Reaper as a ship and generally can't enjoy it unless it's in a very specific AU that keeps it from being irrevocably unhealthy. So here's that AU! This takes place after the "Recall" animated short and some of canon is a little altered/will be altered in the future.

Angela Ziegler once thought she would not be giving Gabriel Reyes help ever again. Once, the two were an unstoppable force on the battlefield. They weaved in and out of advancing omnic forces, dodging sprays of molten metal and bullets and fire. When the bastions closed Mercy into a corner, her angel put himself between her and the assailants, shotguns red hot at the ends and blazing. When Gabriel was struck and fell, Angela’s caduceus staff beamed for him, always ready to bring him back into the fight. Their teamwork and compatibility made them a true force to be reckoned with.  
But that was a long time ago. Her angel fell faster than she could catch him, and suddenly he was gone. The creature who took his place, who she created, wreaked havoc in Winston’s lab. She didn’t believe it until she saw the footage on Athena. The creature, the soulsucking wraith that wore the body of Gabriel Reyes, assaulted their longtime friend without mercy. Furthermore, he had been there to do even more harm to the people they once called friends. He wanted to seek them out on Talon’s behalf, or perhaps he agreed to do it for personal reasons. Regardless, it made her sick.  
Regardless of what happened, healthcare was still a human right. Some would argue Gabriel’s humanity had long since disappeared, but she couldn’t deny him treatment. At the very least, she would do it for old time’s sake.  
The guards at the doors bristled as Reaper shifted on the bed. They had connections with Jack from his more recent vigilante days, and were willing to return a favour in the form of protecting Angela. She thought it might be excessive at first, but now, in such close proximity with her old friend, it felt better to have them near. When he woke, he would be more angry than when he first launched his escape.  
The recalled Overwatch prioritized the capture of Gabriel Reyes, considering the flood of intel he could release to Talon and his personal vendetta against them a lethal threat. Some were more eager to settle the score than others, Angela being one who hesitated against the plan to bring him down. She wasn’t even certain Overwatch should have been recalled in the first place; to attempt a major takedown was even.  
But they had pulled it off. A specially designed cell seemed to be enough to hold Reaper at first, but Angela didn’t wish to understand the mechanics of it. Something about the innovation was enough to keep him from dematerializing, or so they thought. She had watched him stalk his cage from the hidden side of a one-way mirror, but that was still less distressing than how sometimes he merely sat and watched the wall.  
When Gabriel did pull off his escape, no one was certain how he could have possibly overridden the systems. He had never been much of a tech expert, having always oriented his focus to the athletic demands of the omnic crisis. And yet, down went the security that kept him from wreaking havoc, alarms raised, drifting black smoke the only indicator of his presence. It was Satya that ultimately took him down with a prototype weapon she drafted from her Vishkar days, and the relief when she took him down was palpable. Her gun left blistering wounds on his chest, no longer smoking, but the burns were still severe.  
Strangely enough, it was Jack Morrison that halted his imminent execution. To have Reaper incapacitated at all was a rare opportunity, but she knew 76. Despite everything that happened between them, he was too good a man to kill Gabriel while he was helpless. Or maybe it was because she had pushed for Gabriel’s potential rehabilitation often, citing the known use of brainwashing by Talon against Overwatch. Perhaps he could be saved, and Jack hoped so too.  
“Doc,” came a growl, and Angela glanced over. Through the plastic mask administering anaesthesia, red eyes peered at her like the sunset through the smoke of a wildfire. “The hell are you doing?”  
He was conscious again, and Angela’s nurse, and the armed guards at the door, stiffened. She instinctively reached to turn up his anaesthesia enough to pull him back under into sleep, but that felt like running. She saw him tense and flex a little, face hardening when he realized he had no mask to hide behind.  
“You are going to be alright,” she replied, forcing her voice to be level. A few hours earlier, he had been tearing through the watchpoint like a tornado, shattering windows, beating guards within an inch of their lives and rousing the entire force of the thus-recalled members of Overwatch. He was helpless now, or maintained the illusion of helplessness well. While Satya and Winston worked together to repair the demolished security, Reaper was in Angela’s care, wearing thick manacles that kept him bound to her operating table.  
“Ha.” The laugh was short and bitter, eyes drifting down to watch Angela treat his burns. He didn’t seem to be in any pain, not even wincing at her touches. “Why didn’t you let me die, doc? Huh?”  
“Be quiet,” Angela replied, feeling her gut tighten. Whether Talon had brainwashed him or this was solely the result of his revival, this was not her Gabriel, and she strengthened her core against any thought that he might be. She couldn’t treat him as if he was Gabriel, because if she did, he would surely use it to his advantage and do even more damage.

A year later, Angela Ziegler was performing medical work on Reaper again. Some of his freedoms had been returned to him, at least. Armed guards didn’t march him bound down the halls anymore, but they certainly did keep a close eye on him. It was surprising what a little bit of good behaviour and Talon intel did to sway the winds closer to his favour. They trusted him enough to want to use his valuable skills in battle, but that was about it. And yet, the less she was ordered to treat Reaper as a monster and a threat, the more he appeared as Gabriel.  
“You should be more careful, you could get tetanus like this,” she commented, carefully stitching a deep cut on his collarbone.  
“Right,” he growled. “Next time, I’ll ask the omnic to throw me onto something more comfortable than a pile of garbage. Great idea doc.”  
“Or you could just be quicker and not get grabbed,” she returned sweetly, spraying disinfectant over the wound. It was quickly absorbed and she went for her ointment next, then covered it with a pad of gauze.  
“I would suggest you not pretend to know better than me,” he snarled back. Even a few months ago that would have terrified her, but the truth is that if he wanted to do her any harm, he would have by now.  
“Oh stop the attitude.” She turned around and held up two lollipops. “Good agents get lollipops, do you want cherry or blueberry?”  
His mask hid his face, but his scowl was obvious. Angela smirked and set the candies aside on the counter, leaning her tailbone against it.  
“Is there anything else causing you pain today Gabriel?” she asked.  
“Your prodding,” he said, doing his shirt back up and putting on his coat. The ammunitions belts went back on next, and she watched him, finding she admired the thick muscle of his thighs. Those pants didn’t leave much to the imagination.  
“It can’t be so terrible,” she said. “You wouldn’t get hurt so often if you didn’t like coming to see me.”  
Reaper turned, and somehow the mask could still convey some of that characteristic annoyance. “What.”  
“Every other day you’re sent to my office with a wound or a broken bone or something. Someone as highly trained as you certainly doesn’t get hurt like that by accident,” she said, grinning that she managed to dig at him a little. The old, living Gabriel was easy to tease too. The living Gabriel teased her back, though.  
“Knock it off Ziegler. And wipe that smirk off your face,” he scowled.  
“I am not smirking!” she replied. “I think it’s sweet.”  
“I don’t come to ‘visit’ you,” he growled, towering over her. His shadow swallowed her form and she stayed leaned against the counter, lifting her chin to look at him in the eyes of his mask. She wouldn’t be bullied.  
“Fine,” she replied evenly, and then offered a little smile. “It was nice to see you.”  
Expecting more confrontation, Reaper deflated. He was cornered by her passive reply; he couldn’t keep up his snarling, but if he walked away, she won. She knew she had gotten him stuck, and it was a little bit funny to watch. Perhaps if she caught him like this more often, he would finally stop taking himself so seriously.  
His gloved hand disappeared in his hood. She heard the soft mechanized click of his mask lifting and looked up, expecting him to move---and he was upon her. The kiss was hard and demanding, catching the doctor off guard. She grabbed the counter to hold herself up, resisting out of instinct at first. He was pushing her back and it was digging the sharp edge of the countertop into her lower back, and by the time she processed what was happening enough to enjoy it, Reaper pulled back from her. She caught the briefest sight of pallid, scarred grey and stubbly chin before his mask clicked down again. He didn't say anything at all, turning and going to the door. It slid open and shut behind him and he disappeared as fast as he had come, leaving the room with an emptiness she never noticed before.  
Angela Ziegler once thought she would not be kissing Gabriel Reyes ever again. Now she just wondered how she was supposed to finish her work for the rest of the day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flashback to the good old days of Blackwatch Reyes & Angela being mostly-happy friends, before all the sad dying and exploding HQ's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not much of a slow burn writer, but here's some backstory! ^u^ EXTREMELY short. Hopefully things will start lengthening when I get into the story naturally.

In the training yard, Blackwatch Commander Reyes was looking down on the doctor. 

“I warned you,” he said, and Angela laughed weakly. 

“Yeah, you did. Remind me not to piss you off,” she said, taking his offered hand and getting up off the ground. She felt it was important she be able to defend herself as a medic on the field, but Gabriel sure as hell wasn’t making it easy to learn. 

“You probably don’t need reminding,” he said with a small smirk. “You still not done?” 

Angela shook her head, even if she was dizzy and sore now. “I will not always have my weapon, Gabriel. I need to be able to defend myself from civilian and omnic alike.” 

“Who would attack a cute little medic?” he smirked, but began to circle her anyways. He cracked his knuckles and Angela readied herself for the attack. 

“Talon, omnics-” 

Gabriel came at her from behind this time, grabbing her wrist. Angela swung around to try to get him in the jaw, but the air replaced the solid mass when he dodged. He twisted her arm behind her back and she grimaced in pain, trying to kick him in the shins and elbow his gut with her free arm. He placed his unloaded gun on her temple. 

“Boom. Dead,” Gabriel said, and Angela whined in frustration. She rubbed her sore elbow, annoyed. 

“You are not the average angry civilian though, I could have gotten away if you gave me a second,” she scowled. 

“Angry civilians don’t usually grab medics, Ziegler. Pissed off terrorists do, though, and they won’t go easy on you.” 

“What, that was you going easy on me?!” It was hard not to get frustrated, especially not when he made it so hard to even start fighting back. 

“Don’t complain, try again or quit,” he said, which was infuriating. She stretched her elbow out again. 

“Come at me again then,” she said, and Gabriel rolled his eyes. He began to circle again and she let him get behind her, figuring he wouldn’t attack from behind twice because that would be too obvious, but-

Angela hit the ground under Gabriel’s weight, so focused on trying to move before he did that she didn’t even see him coming. Gabriel was expecting her to plant her feet at the very least---Ziegler was strong and not the easiest to knock over. Or at least, not usually. Her head snapped down against the training turf and the breath knocked from her lungs, vision swimming with bleariness as the pain sharpened and then started to dull, moving down her neck. When she blinked her eyes open she saw Gabriel in shock over her too. 

“What the fuck, Ziegler? You were supposed to be braced, Jesus Christ, you said you were ready!” he said. 

“Ow---I thought I was ready,” she said, grimacing. She saw Gabriel’s normally stoic face contort with concern. 

“You weren’t ready, you weren’t braced, I could have seriously hurt you,” he continued, getting off her. “Can you move your neck?”

“Stop fussing, I’m fine Gabriel,” she said, reaching to touch the back of her neck to be sure. It hurt a lot, especially where her head hit the turf, but she’s quite certain it won’t be a concussion. 

“Do----should I help you up?” He sounded like he almost might apologize, hand by Angela’s shoulder as he leant over her, searching for worse damage. 

She liked his face, she thought. Dark tawny skin and black-brown eyes and that silly beard and moustache, dark browns in a frown. He was handsome when he wasn’t acting like a jackass. 

“I can get up, don’t freak out,” Angela chuckled, sitting up and rubbing her neck. “I’m done for the night though, I could use some ice.”

“No shit,” he agreed, and started to walk out of the field ahead of her. She paused, and when he realized she wasn’t following, turned around. “You want a written invitation Ziegler?”

“Jackass,” she said, and began to catch up. She came to his side and felt his eyes on her. “Oh my god stop worrying,” she chuckled. “I am fine Gabriel.”

“I’m not worrying,” he said, now allowing her to lead. They ventured into the medbay and Angela retrieved an ice pack, sitting in one of the nearest chairs and holding it to the back of her head that struck the ground first.

“You feel bad for hurting me,” she smirked, looking up. “You big teddy bear, I am really okay.” 

“Shut up,” he said, sitting across from her after taking another pause. “It’s my job to make sure you’re okay.” 

“I’m not a soldier, therefore not Blackwatch, therefore not your department,” she said, leaning back and letting the ice pack sit between the cushion and her head. It was definitely going to be a bruise and maybe even a bump. 

“Do you interrogate all your friends like this?” he growled. 

“Just the ones who make it so easy,” Angela smirked, closing her eyes. “Same time tomorrow?” 

“Not a chance,” he said. “If you really want to learn I’ll get you an instructor that knows how to dial back their strength.” 

Angela scowled, opening her eyes again. “I like learning from you though.”

“I don’t like teaching you,” he said, and upon seeing a sharp look of hurt flicker on her features, added, “I don’t like hurting you.” 

“But you train with everyone else,” she argued. 

“I do not. Recruits spar with each other, I don’t get involved fighting people with a disadvantage,” he said. “At least not until you whipped out the sad puppy dog eyes.” 

What an absolute ass. She tried not to be stung, or at least tried not to look stung, and sighed. That was easier said than done. 

“Fine. I’ll ask someone else.” 

“I’ll arrange it for you,” he replied, regretting the subtly hurt look on her face. She was awful at hiding her feelings. She also probably wasn’t trying to, Gabriel thought. At least, not right now. 

“Thank you,” Angela said curtly, and Gabriel rose to his feet. For a moment it looked like he was moving to the door, but he turned and went to sit beside Angela instead, gently holding the pack of ice for her. 

“Sorry,” he murmured, not one to apologize much. 

For what? She wasn’t sure, but leaned into the ice pack anyways and looked him in the eyes. 

“It’s fine Gabriel,” she said, at least able to appreciate the small gesture. Either he was apologizing for knocking her down or for upsetting her maybe both, a rare sight indeed for anyone at the base.


End file.
